The legal framework surrounding digital technology has been boosted significantly in recent times as development continues apace.

Lawmakers enacted a sweeping package of legislation during the 15th National
Assembly (NA) term, aimed at building a relatively comprehensive legal framework
for the development of digital technology, including the revised Law on Electronic
Transactions, the revised Law on Telecommunications, the Law on Data, the Law on
Personal Data Protection, the Law on E-commerce, the revised Law on Advertising,
the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation, and the Law on Digital Technology
Industry Development, along with a range of related legal instruments. Most recently,
the NA passed the Law on AI.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Hong, President of the Vietnam Digital Communications Association
(VDCA), described this as one of the most intensive waves of policy reform since
Vietnam entered the digital transformation era.

Building a legal architecture

At a recent workshop entitled “Enhancing policies and legal frameworks for
digital technology development in Vietnam,” Mr. Nguyen Quang Dong, Director of the
Institute for Policy Studies and Media Development (IPS), said a comprehensive review
shows that Vietnam’s legislative trajectory clearly reflects efforts to keep pace
with emerging issues in the digital era through dedicated laws.

He highlighted five particularly new and rapidly-evolving areas: cybersecurity,
data, digital assets, AI, and e-commerce. According to Mr. Dong, these are issues
that either did not previously exist or were not adequately addressed under the
traditional legal system. Vietnam has chosen to draft standalone laws to directly
regulate each of these areas.

In cybersecurity, the Law on Cybersecurity was enacted in 2018. At its most
recent session, the NA adopted a comprehensively-revised version – the Law on Cybersecurity
No. 116/2025/QH15 – which will take effect on July 1, 2026, to meet new requirements
arising from the digital environment.

In the data sphere, Vietnam now has two key independent laws. The Law on Personal
Data Protection 2025, developed on the basis of the Decree on Personal Data Protection
2023, and the Law on Data 2024, were recently passed by the NA. The latter provides
comprehensive regulation of data collection, processing, sharing, and exchange,
and sets out provisions for models such as data exchanges. As a result, Vietnam
has established a clearly-differentiated legal framework separating personal data
protection from broader data governance and development.

For e-commerce, the legislature passed the Law on E-commerce No. 122/2025/QH15
on December 10, 2025, effective from July 1, 2026. The Law is designed to address
new issues arising from the rapid growth of e-commerce platforms and online trading.
This underscores a clear policy direction: enacting specialized legislation for
entirely new segments of the digital economy.

At the same time, several sector-specific laws have been amended to address
challenges in the digital environment. Notably, the NA adopted the Law Amending
and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Advertising No. 75/2025/QH15,
effective January 1, 2026. The revised Law introduces new provisions governing advertising
on digital platforms, clarifies the responsibilities of intermediary platform providers,
and, in particular, sets out obligations for celebrities and influencers engaged
in advertising on social media.

Entirely new issues such as digital assets and policy experimentation mechanisms
have also been formally codified. The Law on Digital Technology Industry Development
2025 explicitly recognizes digital property rights, regulates digital asset transactions,
and establishes a legal sandbox framework for emerging technologies.

Balancing risk and growth

On AI, Vietnam is among the early movers in enacting a standalone law on the
technology. Mr. Ho Duc Thang, Director of the National Institute of Digital Technology
and Digital Transformation at the Ministry of Science and Technology, said the core
objective of the Law on AI is to strike a balance between risk governance and development
promotion, with greater emphasis placed on fostering AI growth rather than tightening
risk controls.

The National Institute of Digital Technology and Digital Transformation was
one of the lead agencies involved in drafting the Law on AI. According to Mr. Thang,
the law primarily adopts an ex-post oversight mechanism, under which enterprises
are responsible for assessing the risk level of their AI systems.

Only a very limited number of particularly dangerous AI systems will be subject
to ex-ante review. For example, autonomous vehicles cannot rely solely on self-assessment
by enterprises and must undergo independent appraisal by competent authorities.
The list of AI systems requiring pre-market review will be issued by the Prime Minister.

“Vietnam’s risk management approach largely relies on ex-post oversight, based
on trust that enterprises will comply,” M. Thang said. “However, once that trust
is placed, the Law also provides sufficiently strong sanctions.”

Beyond risk governance, much of the remaining content of the Law is devoted
to promoting AI development. Notably, it allows AI-related activities to enjoy the
highest level of incentives available under existing legal frameworks, including
the Law on High Technology, the Law on Digital Transformation, and the Law on Digital
Technology Industry Development.

“In other words, wherever preferential policies for AI exist under other laws,
AI will benefit at the highest level,” Mr. Thang said. “We are also strongly promoting
the sandbox mechanism. As a new technology with inherent risks, AI can benefit from
participating in a sandbox, which helps enterprises shorten time to market while
also receiving State support and investment during the process.”

The Law also lays the groundwork for the establishment of an AI Development
Fund. The fund is intended not only to support research and product development
but also to help stimulate the broader AI application market.

Dual-track approach

Alongside the introduction of new laws, Vietnam has also amended and supplemented
numerous existing statutes to keep pace with the rapid advancement of digital technology
in traditional sectors.

Experts say the country is pursuing two parallel tracks: drafting specialized
legislation for entirely new areas of digital technology, while simultaneously upgrading
existing laws to adapt to deepening digitalization. Behind this wave of legislation
lies an extensive process of policy debate and consultation aimed at identifying
an appropriate governance model. The overarching goal is to strike a balance between
promoting innovation and enabling business growth on the one hand, and ensuring
safety, security, and the protection of citizens’ rights in the digital environment
on the other.

The Law on AI offers a case in point. While it establishes clear regulatory
parameters, it avoids imposing overly rigid barriers, leaving room for enterprises
to experiment, develop, and commercialize new technologies. This reflects what may
be emerging as Vietnam’s distinctive model: clear legal frameworks without excessive
rigidity. Sandbox mechanisms and dedicated AI legislation have been advanced swiftly
yet designed with flexibility in mind, in order to respond to the rapid evolution
of digital assets and new business models.

According to Mr. Dong, three overarching factors underpin Vietnam’s digital
governance philosophy. The first is sovereignty and national security. The second
is human rights. And the third is the imperative to foster innovation and encourage
new business models. Legal provisions, he said, must continuously seek to balance
and harmonize these three pillars.

“The State has taken a comprehensive approach to refining the legal framework,
with more than ten key laws covering cybersecurity, data, telecommunications, digital
assets, AI, e-commerce, intellectual property, and advertising,” Mr. Dong said.

However, he also cautioned that significant gaps remain. Many newly-enacted
laws still operate largely at the level of principles. In sectors such as finance,
healthcare, health technology, and especially AI applications in gene technology,
the absence of detailed technical standards and corresponding enforcement capacity
could lead to unforeseen consequences.

VET-Bao Binh